Kiwis cry foul on World Cup draw

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New Australian Soccer Association boss John O'Neill has dismissed New Zealand claims that the draw for the coming World Cup qualifying competition in Adelaide has been rigged in the host's favour.

The Kiwis are up in arms about the scheduling, which pits the All Whites against the Socceroos in the nine-day competition's first set of round-robin matches, at Hindmarsh Stadium on May 29.

NZ's soccer chief, Bill MacGowan, fears an underdone Kiwi team has been set up because it will face a near-full-strength Australian line-up that will be match-hardened after two tough games with Turkey a week earlier. He described the draw as a "jack-up".

The Oceania competition will be played between Australia, NZ and the winners and runners-up in the two qualifying groups that are being played between Pacific Island nations next week.

After NZ plays the Socceroos, the New Zealanders are then due to play two more games in four days against the qualifying group winners, while the Socceroos will play the two runners-up from the qualifying tournament over the following four days.

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The New Zealanders believe this also makes Australia's task much easier.

O'Neill was unimpressed by the complaint, saying that the schedule had been approved by all the nations in the Oceania Soccer Confederation.

"It is unfortunate that New Zealand Soccer interprets the 11-1 vote of the Oceania nations as a 'jack-up' of the draw," he said.

"Eleven members agreed with the proposed draw and only New Zealand objected.

"We appreciate that they didn't appeal to FIFA, but we remain firm in the view that the considered position of the Oceania nations is that the draw is fair, commercially responsible and acceptable to the vast majority of the participants."

The draw certainly suits Australia, as Socceroo coach Frank Farina will have had two competitive warm-up games to blend his squad before it takes on its only serious competitor in NZ.

Assuming the Socceroos win that game, Farina could probably afford to rest most of his big-name players for the matches against the island nations that follow.